ARCA RE/MAX postponed at South Boston

ARCA RE/MAX EVENT AT SOUTH BOSTON POSTPONED BY HURRICANE ISABEL



TOLEDO, OH (9-18-03)  In an unprecedented move, the ARCA RE/MAX Series and Big Daddy's South Boston Speedway have postponed Saturday's ARCA RE/MAX Liberty 200 presented by Bank Of America due to the effects of Hurricane Isabel.



"I don't know that in the 51-year history of the series we've ever postponed an event due to weather two days in advance, but this is a pretty compelling reason," said ARCA President Ron Drager. "The Governor of Virginia, Mark R. Warner, has declared a state of emergency, tens of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate from the Virginia coast, the best meteorological technology and personnel agree that the storm system is the biggest and most volatile to hit the region since Hurricane Floyd in 1999, and South Boston Speedway is located directly in the projected path of the hurricane. It would seem in the best interests of everyone, and the responsible thing to do, to select an alternate date to conduct the event."



"People still need to understand this is a very formidable hurricane," said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. "Its track has been very consistent."



The Governors of North Carolina and Maryland had also declared states of emergency by Wednesday. Hurricane Isabel was a strong Category 2 storm Thursday morning, with sustained wind near 110 mph, weakened from the weekend when it had 160 mph wind and held the top Category 5 storm strength rating. Forecasters predicted little change in strength before landfall for Isabel, and the South Boston area forecast calls for sustained winds in excess of 40 mph and heavy rains for Thursday and Friday.



The ARCA RE/MAX Liberty 200 presented by Bank of America, originally scheduled for July 2, ironically was rained out and rescheduled for Saturday, September 20th along with NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series event. The ARCA RE/MAX Series event is now scheduled for Saturday October 18 at Big Daddy's South Boston Speedway, to be held in conjunction with the USAC Midget Series race.



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